1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is useful for concealing small objects such as keys, electrical switches, a thermostat or an electronic key pad, and externally has the appearance of a picture frame.
2. The Prior Art
A number of devices are known in the prior art for concealing objects in or behind a picture frame, but none of them has the structure of the present invention.
The following patents show picture frames that conceal compartments: U.S. Pat. No. 4,155,608 issued May 22, 1979 to Orlewicz; U.S. Pat. No. 4,304,447 issued Dec. 8, 1981 to Elwood et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,936,038 issued Jun. 26, 1990 to Johnson et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,625 issued Dec. 25, 1990 to Johnson et al.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,413,736 issued Nov. 8, 1983, Nibling shows a jewelry box to which a picture frame may be attached. The box includes a compartment for jewels.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,261,122 issued Apr. 14, 1981, LeVine shows and describes a concealed compartment that lies between a planar picture backing and a picture frame backing member. Access to this compartment is obtained by pivoting one of the frame members rearwardly and outwardly as shown in FIG. 4 of the patent. Since the hinge axis lies on the rear of the frame, it appears that the back of the frame cannot be mounted flush against a wall if access to the compartment is required. In contrast, the frame of the present invention is intended to be mounted flush against a wall.
Even if the frame of Le Vine's patent is not mounted flush against a wall, obtaining access to the compartment appears to require one hand to keep the hinged frame member in the open position, another hand to slide the picture out, and possibly another hand to steady the remainder of the frame. In contrast, when the frame of the present invention is mounted to a wall, access to the concealed chamber can be obtained with only one hand.
In British Patent No. 361,114, Reimers describes a picture frame constructed in such a way as to permit the picture to be readily changed. Reimers does not suggest the possibility of providing a concealed compartment. Therefore it is not surprising that he does not provide sufficient space between his removable slide e and his cardboard wall b to accommodate objects that are to be concealed.
Even if a small object could be lodged in Reimer's picture frame, retrieving the object would be so difficult as to render the device useless. In Reimers the frame members a are glued to the cardboard back b. Consequently, the glass c cannot be removed without destroying the picture frame. Access to any stored object would be extremely difficult without breaking the glass.
In U.S. Pat. No. 1,502,137, De Foreest et al. nowhere suggest that they provide a concealed compartment, but instead they describe an identification tag holder for a vehicle. The tag holder somewhat resembles a picture frame having a metal backing plate 1 that is attached to a sheet metal portion 9 of the vehicle. The identification papers 24, protected from the front by a sheet of glass 16, are held against a metal plate 5 that is attached to an upper frame member 4, and inserted downwardly into the tag holder. Here the resemblance to the present invention stops, because in the invention of De Foreest et al., the inserted metal plate 5 includes a flange 6 that rides over and engages beneath locking tongues 7 on the backing plate 1, ". . . whereupon the parts will be automatically locked and the assemblage embodying the identification medium will be permanently housed within the holder. . .", thereby permanently preventing access to the space between the inserted metal plate 5 and the backing plate 1. In contrast, in the present invention, the upper frame member and the picture backing panel remain freely removable from the remainder of the picture frame, so that access to the concealed compartment can be obtained easily and with one hand.
So far as can be determined, the present invention includes novel structure that distinguishes it from other devices that are used for the same purpose.